The Examen with Fr. James Martin, SJ

We'll continue to use the same reflection and examen for the rest of the 11th Week of Ordinary Time. New reflections will be added every Monday.

Have you ever had a mystical experience? I ask that not to make you feel inadequate in your spiritual life, much less bad about yourself, but to remind you that mystical experiences are lot more common than you might think. You don’t have to be a saint to have them. A mystical experience, basically, is one that makes us feel like a sudden flash of truth or light that releases you from your limited sense of self and gives you a taste of a reality that somehow feels more real. It doesn’t mean seeing things or hearing things, but a kind of being taken out of yourself, or seeing things in a new way. And in my experience as a spiritual director, they are, while not common, but also not uncommon. One young man told that he felt like he was a vase filled with water about to overflow. One woman told me that she looked around at Mass and suddenly realized that everyone had once been a child. Sometimes it’s just an intense feeling of rightness, or understanding, or connection with God. I would say I’ve had them about three times in my life. I’m not going to encourage you to look for a mystical experience this week; they’re gifts, and rare ones at that. But if it happens, whether this week, this month or this year, just be open to it. And grateful.

We'll continue to use the same reflection and examen for the rest of the 11th Week of Ordinary Time. New reflections will be added every Monday.

Have you ever had a mystical experience? I ask that not to make you feel inadequate in your spiritual life, much less bad about yourself, but to remind you that mystical experiences are lot more common than you might think. You don’t have to be a saint to have them. A mystical experience, basically, is one that makes us feel like a sudden flash of truth or light that releases you from your limited sense of self and gives you a taste of a reality that somehow feels more real. It doesn’t mean seeing things or hearing things, but a kind of being taken out of yourself, or seeing things in a new way. And in my experience as a spiritual director, they are, while not common, but also not uncommon. One young man told that he felt like he was a vase filled with water about to overflow. One woman told me that she looked around at Mass and suddenly realized that everyone had once been a child. Sometimes it’s just an intense feeling of rightness, or understanding, or connection with God. I would say I’ve had them about three times in my life. I’m not going to encourage you to look for a mystical experience this week; they’re gifts, and rare ones at that. But if it happens, whether this week, this month or this year, just be open to it. And grateful.

Because today is Monday, we have a new reflection of the week.

Have you ever had a mystical experience? I ask that not to make you feel inadequate in your spiritual life, much less bad about yourself, but to remind you that mystical experiences are lot more common than you might think. You don’t have to be a saint to have them. A mystical experience, basically, is one that makes us feel like a sudden flash of truth or light that releases you from your limited sense of self and gives you a taste of a reality that somehow feels more real. It doesn’t mean seeing things or hearing things, but a kind of being taken out of yourself, or seeing things in a new way. And in my experience as a spiritual director, they are, while not common, but also not uncommon. One young man told that he felt like he was a vase filled with water about to overflow. One woman told me that she looked around at Mass and suddenly realized that everyone had once been a child. Sometimes it’s just an intense feeling of rightness, or understanding, or connection with God. I would say I’ve had them about three times in my life. I’m not going to encourage you to look for a mystical experience this week; they’re gifts, and rare ones at that. But if it happens, whether this week, this month or this year, just be open to it. And grateful.

Because today is Monday, we have a new reflection of the week.

Have you ever had a mystical experience? I ask that not to make you feel inadequate in your spiritual life, much less bad about yourself, but to remind you that mystical experiences are lot more common than you might think. You don’t have to be a saint to have them. A mystical experience, basically, is one that makes us feel like a sudden flash of truth or light that releases you from your limited sense of self and gives you a taste of a reality that somehow feels more real. It doesn’t mean seeing things or hearing things, but a kind of being taken out of yourself, or seeing things in a new way. And in my experience as a spiritual director, they are, while not common, but also not uncommon. One young man told that he felt like he was a vase filled with water about to overflow. One woman told me that she looked around at Mass and suddenly realized that everyone had once been a child. Sometimes it’s just an intense feeling of rightness, or understanding, or connection with God. I would say I’ve had them about three times in my life. I’m not going to encourage you to look for a mystical experience this week; they’re gifts, and rare ones at that. But if it happens, whether this week, this month or this year, just be open to it. And grateful.

A new reflection for the 11th week of Ordinary Time will be added on Monday.

Are you ever distracted in prayer? I bet I know that answer to that question. Yes, of course! Everyone is. It’s one of the most common concerns, or complaints, that I hear about prayer. So how do you deal with them? Well, first you need to discern what kind of distraction it is. To my mind, there are two kinds: important and not so important. What do I mean by important ones? Well, some distractions may not be distractions. A few years ago, a young Jesuit told me he kept trying to do his examen but a guy in community that he was angry about kept coming up in his prayer. Well, I said, maybe God wants you to look at that. It may be an important distraction.

But there are other distractions that may not be so important: thinking about what you’re going to have for dinner, for example. The invitation here is to let them go. But sometimes that’s hard. Even impossible, for example if you’re in physical pain. In that case, maybe you can just let them be. And remember that God can be with you even if you’re distracted. Think about it: If you were with a friend who said she was distracted, you’d be forgiving, wouldn’t you? You’d understand. So how much more forgiving and understanding is God? So don’t worry too much about being distracted, especially if you can’t help it. Just be with God.

A new reflection for the 11th week of Ordinary Time will be added on Monday.

Are you ever distracted in prayer? I bet I know that answer to that question. Yes, of course! Everyone is. It’s one of the most common concerns, or complaints, that I hear about prayer. So how do you deal with them? Well, first you need to discern what kind of distraction it is. To my mind, there are two kinds: important and not so important. What do I mean by important ones? Well, some distractions may not be distractions. A few years ago, a young Jesuit told me he kept trying to do his examen but a guy in community that he was angry about kept coming up in his prayer. Well, I said, maybe God wants you to look at that. It may be an important distraction.

But there are other distractions that may not be so important: thinking about what you’re going to have for dinner, for example. The invitation here is to let them go. But sometimes that’s hard. Even impossible, for example if you’re in physical pain. In that case, maybe you can just let them be. And remember that God can be with you even if you’re distracted. Think about it: If you were with a friend who said she was distracted, you’d be forgiving, wouldn’t you? You’d understand. So how much more forgiving and understanding is God? So don’t worry too much about being distracted, especially if you can’t help it. Just be with God.

We'll continue to use the same reflection and examen for the rest of the 10th Week of Ordinary Time. New reflections will be added every Monday.

Are you ever distracted in prayer? I bet I know that answer to that question. Yes, of course! Everyone is. It’s one of the most common concerns, or complaints, that I hear about prayer. So how do you deal with them? Well, first you need to discern what kind of distraction it is. To my mind, there are two kinds: important and not so important. What do I mean by important ones? Well, some distractions may not be distractions. A few years ago, a young Jesuit told me he kept trying to do his examen but a guy in community that he was angry about kept coming up in his prayer. Well, I said, maybe God wants you to look at that. It may be an important distraction.

But there are other distractions that may not be so important: thinking about what you’re going to have for dinner, for example. The invitation here is to let them go. But sometimes that’s hard. Even impossible, for example if you’re in physical pain. In that case, maybe you can just let them be. And remember that God can be with you even if you’re distracted. Think about it: If you were with a friend who said she was distracted, you’d be forgiving, wouldn’t you? You’d understand. So how much more forgiving and understanding is God? So don’t worry too much about being distracted, especially if you can’t help it. Just be with God.

We'll continue to use the same reflection and examen for the rest of the 10th Week of Ordinary Time. New reflections will be added every Monday.

Are you ever distracted in prayer? I bet I know that answer to that question. Yes, of course! Everyone is. It’s one of the most common concerns, or complaints, that I hear about prayer. So how do you deal with them? Well, first you need to discern what kind of distraction it is. To my mind, there are two kinds: important and not so important. What do I mean by important ones? Well, some distractions may not be distractions. A few years ago, a young Jesuit told me he kept trying to do his examen but a guy in community that he was angry about kept coming up in his prayer. Well, I said, maybe God wants you to look at that. It may be an important distraction.

But there are other distractions that may not be so important: thinking about what you’re going to have for dinner, for example. The invitation here is to let them go. But sometimes that’s hard. Even impossible, for example if you’re in physical pain. In that case, maybe you can just let them be. And remember that God can be with you even if you’re distracted. Think about it: If you were with a friend who said she was distracted, you’d be forgiving, wouldn’t you? You’d understand. So how much more forgiving and understanding is God? So don’t worry too much about being distracted, especially if you can’t help it. Just be with God.

We'll continue to use the same reflection and examen for the rest of the 10th Week of Ordinary Time. New reflections will be added every Monday.

Are you ever distracted in prayer? I bet I know that answer to that question. Yes, of course! Everyone is. It’s one of the most common concerns, or complaints, that I hear about prayer. So how do you deal with them? Well, first you need to discern what kind of distraction it is. To my mind, there are two kinds: important and not so important. What do I mean by important ones? Well, some distractions may not be distractions. A few years ago, a young Jesuit told me he kept trying to do his examen but a guy in community that he was angry about kept coming up in his prayer. Well, I said, maybe God wants you to look at that. It may be an important distraction.

But there are other distractions that may not be so important: thinking about what you’re going to have for dinner, for example. The invitation here is to let them go. But sometimes that’s hard. Even impossible, for example if you’re in physical pain. In that case, maybe you can just let them be. And remember that God can be with you even if you’re distracted. Think about it: If you were with a friend who said she was distracted, you’d be forgiving, wouldn’t you? You’d understand. So how much more forgiving and understanding is God? So don’t worry too much about being distracted, especially if you can’t help it. Just be with God.

We'll continue to use the same reflection and examen for the rest of the 10th Week of Ordinary Time. New reflections will be added every Monday.

Are you ever distracted in prayer? I bet I know that answer to that question. Yes, of course! Everyone is. It’s one of the most common concerns, or complaints, that I hear about prayer. So how do you deal with them? Well, first you need to discern what kind of distraction it is. To my mind, there are two kinds: important and not so important. What do I mean by important ones? Well, some distractions may not be distractions. A few years ago, a young Jesuit told me he kept trying to do his examen but a guy in community that he was angry about kept coming up in his prayer. Well, I said, maybe God wants you to look at that. It may be an important distraction.

But there are other distractions that may not be so important: thinking about what you’re going to have for dinner, for example. The invitation here is to let them go. But sometimes that’s hard. Even impossible, for example if you’re in physical pain. In that case, maybe you can just let them be. And remember that God can be with you even if you’re distracted. Think about it: If you were with a friend who said she was distracted, you’d be forgiving, wouldn’t you? You’d understand. So how much more forgiving and understanding is God? So don’t worry too much about being distracted, especially if you can’t help it. Just be with God.